Tenebrous Perspective
by broken-Angel-requiem-Soul
Summary: A familiar sound from a forgotten dream. A blacken view of the world she see's. No longer safe, no longer sound-- there is nothing to keep her from frowning now. In this world its do or die. In this world its fight or be left behind.
1. Prologue

**Tenebrous Perspective:**

In a place that looked like a forest; for all the leaves, trees, and the weather being mostly warm, a meeting was going on to decide the terms of the peace treaty for the war they had had. Even though both sides were happy that the war was over, one side had an underlying reason for being there and perhaps the main reason for starting the war... and the sad part is, it involves a child.

It was dark outside, and not a single person or soul stirred, for all were in the house resting. I mean, who would be up at this ungodly hour? Especially now that it is raining? Rain was somewhat uncommon to this village, but whenever it came, parents would let their kids go out for a while and let them run around. The kids were fascinated at how the water just fell, like a big bucket in the sky that had turned over and showered them with its presents. But now their fun was over, they had their soups and warm tea.

It was so quiet that you could hear the rain drops reverberating throughout the village, and it sounded like an orchestra playing a sad/saddening tune. Like it was grieving for all the ninjas they had lost, but also for the new situation that had arisen because of it...

_"Death and struggles help us shape the person that we are now."_

**Prologue:**

Pushing heavy thoughts aside and storing them deep within the recesses of her mind was getting easier and easier for her. What would you expect from a girl who at age three was praised by the elders for her unusual clairvoyance - even for a Hyuuga?

With a sigh that carried pain beyond her years, she lifted the blanket over her shoulders and stared at the ceiling; her lavender hued eyes blank as the white paint she was staring at. Slowly she closed her eyes waiting for sleep to overcome her, and wondering what the next day would bring.

The soft pitter-platter of the rain sent the girl peacefully off into sleep.

An hour after she closed her eyes, they snapped open.

The little girl with ebony-blue hair was filled with fear and worry as she looked at the man she had seen a few days ago; still she was filled with dread at seeing him, or just being around him. The way he looked at her... like she was his prey. It made such an impression on the child, that the for a few nights or so she had been having nightmares - he was haunting her with his stare.

She was frightened.

But she was only a child, how could she deal with it? Surely, her father wouldn't be happy, but then again, he never was a man that showed emotion and did he expect his kid to be the same? Did he expect her to be his clone? To follow his movements and breathe the same shinobi way? She was surprised when she saw a picture of her father with a smile on his face...

But, she surmised, that was before he was the Clan leader, and had to take on the responsibility each leader had to.

_Poise._

_Elegance._

_Grace._

_Etiquette._

_Strength._

_Confidence._

Those and more are the qualities a Clan leader needed to have. And it's those same things that this girl lacked. On several occasions, her father had chastised her on why she did not do things like a regular Hyuuga her age did.

What would her father say?

She already knew the answer.

_"You are weak and it is your fault for not improving,"_ he would say turning away, while his cold eyes bore into her soul and she felt all his pent up anger, sprung from her disgrace, pile up upon her frail shoulders.

_"You are a disgrace!" _Nothing she did made seemed to please the man that was her father and consequently a stutter began to form, so most of the time she opted to say quiet, and because of that, her voice become barley comes above a whisper.

_"It's all _your _fault." _He'd accuse, and begin to walk away, not even caring that the heir was taken. If she could not defend herself then she didn't _deserve_ their protection.

Her father was right, it would be her fault that Kumogakure would discover the Byakugan secret and destroy the Hyuuga Clan. And with two of the most dangerous clans from Konoha gone, a war would break loose. It would be her fault that unborn children and those that are born now would die... because of her.

The realization hit her hard like a brick, that if she did not move she wouldn't be able to see her mom, her cousin, or Naruto anymore. She managed to get free because the element of surprise was on her side and tried to defend herself, and going into a sloppy imitation of the Hyuuga stance, she stared at her opponent.

The man only laughed and jeered at her, causing the girl with already small confidence to shatter. Her kicks lacked strength, power, or grace, and her footing was bad. Her punches were too slow, too small, too weak, and they missed their target. He easily got behind her and within seconds she was unconscious.

The soft mournful tune of the orchestra changed into a rapid requiem; the rain came down harder and faster than it did before. The kumo nin quickened his pace as he neared his exit from the Hyuuga compound. Pain overtook his hand and he dropped the girl who had bitten him... hard.

The Hyuuga girl, once released, started running in that general direction, trying to escape and had to stop herself from falling into the mud that had accumulated almost everywhere. Her efforts, however, proved futile, and the man stood in front of her. Tauntingly he took a step forward and watched in sick amusement as she instinctively took a step back.

Suddenly he dived to the left, successfully avoiding the kunai targeted for his body; the one aimed for his lower body narrowly missed the frightened girl, whose legs from the look of it were about to cave in, with a fear-stricken look on her face and her mouth agape.

The kumo nin turned with a heated glare to the person who dared to stop him. He stared wide-eyed as he looked at the person who appeared to be Hyuuga Hiashi, the Hyuuga clan leader. Mentally listing his options, leaving being the optimal choice, the confusion of the situation would block them from finding out who he was.

"What are you doing?" The intruder realized from the voice that the effigy of Hiashi was actually his younger brother, Hyuuga Hizashi. Going with his first choice, the kumo nin turned and ran for his life, but only got two feet before he stopped in front of someone else who looked like Hiashi. This 'Hiashi' seemed more angry, even with etiquette's training, and that's when the kumo nin's eyes widened and he feared his life. The person in front of him was the real Hiashi, he could tell by the look of unrestrained hatred in his eyes and the killing intent that seem to create a mist around him, making him look even more scarier. This is the hate and scorn of the man whose child was almost taken.

"Hizashi," Hiashi said, too calm given the situation, but Hizashi knew by the clenching of his jaw that he was anything but calm. "Take Hinata back." Honoring his wishes, Hizashi took his niece, who fell limp in his arms and made his way to the house. And with his Byakugan activated, he saw his brother get into the infamous Jyuuken stance.

It started thundering.

The roaring of the thunder was the last thing Hinata heard before she fainted in her uncle's arms. Hinata did not wake up until two weeks later, after a terrible cold and a high fever; it was a miracle that she made it. Hinata had asked a Hyuuga nurse that was with her when she woke up about what happened and was told that for retribution of the killing of the kumo nin the Hyuuga clan had to give up one of their own, and that the person chosen was her uncle, Hizashi.

Somehow the girl got the feeling that she wouldn't see her uncle again...

Hinata knew he died...

She cried that night...

However Hinata didn't know that assumption about his death would push her emotional wellbeing to its breaking point...

Can she survive?

Or will the darker side lure in the angel into madness?

**Author notes:**

**That's the prologue, tell me what you think. Oh just wait to the story goes on, it is going to get so good!! Review! Oh I got some inspiration from** _The Summoner Nin_ **(you should read it!). Anyway I'm glad I didn't update this story because it gave me new ideas to put into it, so I hope you aren't made at me. Also updates will fluctuate because I got summer work (not summer school) for a class I'm taking and I have to read 3 books and a project for each. But I usually get ideas or inspiration from the books I read, so that is a plus.**

**Hizashi has a very interesting part in this story, so please continue to read and bear with me this summer.**

**The title change is necessary, I believe, to get the readers to get a feel of what is to come later on. Hopefully the prologue has enticed people to actually review and give me comments and suggestions to make it even better. For the story all together I'm hoping to get 100 reviews, **hopefully**. This is the revised version and to me, by comparison, it is a LOT better.**

**Also thanks to my beta: **WiltingDaisies94

**Diclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, but the plot is mine.**


	2. The truth of the matter

_Thanks for those that reviewed! Sorry for the wait, but if someone needs to remind me about updating this story, otherwise the chapters will come very slowly_.

**Tenebrous Perspective:**

**Truth of the matter:**

_x-x_

_Drown out the confusing noise_

_Shake free from the gazes that have grown apathetic_

_Continue from here, onto the next stage (1)_

_x-x_

"_Weak."_

_--_

"_Pathetic."_

_--_

_"A shame to the Hyuuga Clan."_

_--_

"_How can _she_ be our heiress? Our future leader?"_

"_Yeah, that half-blood weakling,"_

_--_

"_Hyuuga Hinata, you are hereby disowned from the Hyuuga Clan until further notice. Pack your things and prepare to leave."_

_--_

"_You can take her." Hyuuga Hiashi said indifferently, "She is of no use to me."_

"_The life of a shinobi is hard and at best short. Do you think she'll survive?"_

"_It does not matter if she lives or dies. The Hyuuga Clan simply doesn't need someone who can't defeat her sister, five years her junior. She is under your care now. Stand, Hanabi."_

_--_

"_Become… catalyst… to ignite… Hinata." _

Slowly Hinata awoke from her dream; words of her past plagued her. The last one, however, confused her; it wasn't a voice she recognized but she felt strangely comfort by it. It was her voice, a familiar sound from a forgotten dream.

She sighed; it was time to get up.

It has been almost two weeks she had been disowned from the Hyuuga Clan, and she remembered how she screamed the first morning after when she woke up and realized it wasn't her room. Looking around the room she noted the obvious difference. The room had a feeling the last one lacked, the feeling of humbleness, peace, love.

* * *

"I hope we don't another D-rank mission, right Akamaru?" Kiba asked his dog, as it gave an affirmative arf.

"Kiba, we are still novices in the shinobi world. It is highly unlikely that the Hokage will give us a C-rank mission or higher," the stoic bug user of the squad said, trying to end his teammate's complaints.

"S-Shino-kun is r-right, K-Kiba-kun." Hinata stated when Kiba snorted at the bug user comment.

"Oh, c'mon Hinata, don't tell me you wouldn't mind getting a B-rank mission if it was with a certain blondie," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice, and watched as said girl's face blushed.

"How about we get there and see?" Kurenai said, saving the only other female of Team 8 from further embarrassment. "The Hokage said it was a mission he saved for us." They continued on, and Kurenai became slightly exasperated when she heard Kiba's comment that the mission better not be about finding the Daimyo's wife's cat... _again _and how the Hokage gave them that mission (if that was considered a mission) twice a week_._

* * *

"Ah. Team 8, welcome. Come in," The Hokage greeted when his assistant told him about their arrival.

"Now," he started when they came in, "You all are probably wondering about the mission I am sending you on." he paused and watched the expressions on the four of his subordinates- particularly the Hyuuga- before continuing. "Unfortunately we can't get into details, since the other team is not here."

"Other team...?"

The rest of the sentence was drowned out by a loud of 'Naruto you baka!'. The door opened, with Sakura having Naruto in a head-lock and Naruto's face turning a light blue color. She only stopped when she noticed they were the center of attention from twelve pair of eyes.

"Um... Hi." Sakura said as she let go of her team mate before facing her teacher, "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, I though you said we had a mission."

"We do," Kakashi stated calmly, "It just so happens that the mission is with Team 8." he smiled at his students' confused faces.

"Well now that everyone is here, why don't we go into the details about the mission?" the Hokage inquired, and after several nods of the head carried on. "As you know now this mission is conjoined between Team 7 and Team 8. The purpose of this mission is like an exchange program, to strengthen ties with our allies-"

"BORING!!" Naruto and Kiba yelled in unison, and Naruto got hit on the head by Sakura ("Ow Sakura-chan...") as she apologized to the Hokage and Kurenai sent Kiba a fierce glare ("G-Gomen, S-Sensei").

"Naruto, you want to become Hokage right?" the Hokage asked and watched as Naruto nodded his head eagerly. "Well to be a Hokage you must be able to fight _and _think, otherwise you would be rash and jump into a fight without thinking about the village's safety. A Hokage is the foundation of the village, the ground for the tree to rise upon. Now tell me Naruto, what would happen should the dirt be taken away?"

"Uh... The tree... would... fall?"

"Exactly. The dirt provides the roots with food, which in turn feeds the tree. The Hokage is the dirt, the roots are the shinobi, and the tree is the villagers. It is up to the dirt and roots to make sure the tree lives for as long as it can. Do you get it?"

Naruto, not wanting to look dumb, nodded his head.

"Now back to the mission. It is about having faith in our allies. You will be there for a month -- two months tops. And while you are there our ally will send two genin teams here as well."

"What village are we going to, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked, quite interested with going outside of Konoha

"You'll be going to The Land of Lighting, Kumogakure." A few seconds later a thump was heard and everyone turned to see Hinata on the floor. "You are all dismissed, and have two days to get packed."

The Hokage watched as Hinata was taken out by her sensei and waited until both teams came into view in window of his office before calling his assistant into the room to summon Hyuuga Hiashi...

_'This will not go well.' _He thought to himself, taking a big puff of his pipe.

* * *

A bird flew over a book store and house, and within two minutes, two Jounin appeared behind a puff of smoke.

"Kurneai, Kakashi." the Hokage greeted.

"Hokage-sama." they said in unison.

"Kurenai, I believe you do not want Hinata to go on this mission."

"Hai. Even if I do not know the reason, I know something happened between Hinata and Kumogakure."

"I'm sorry but that cannot happen." The Hokage said sullenly and raised his hand to stop Kurneai's from talking. Exhaling the smoke in his mouth he continued, the smoke making a veil around his head. "I already talked to Hyuuga Hiashi and he has agreed to let her go."

"But she was disowned!"

"As you said she was _disowned,_ not _exiled_. If she was exiled, you'd your say, however, that is not the case. She is to report to the Hyuuga Clan before you go on with the mission. Understood?"

"Hai." came the dejected reply

"Hokage-sama, is there anything else?" Kakashi asked

"Yes. Kumogakure has recently gotten a new Raikage and it was his idea to exchange genins. So while it is a C ranked mission I want you two to use this opportunity to see whether the Raikage is truthful."

"Do you believe him to be untrustworthy?"

"I do not know. Our ties with Kumogakure are loose are best..."

"To see whether or not we should continue being allies? Do you think that's why the Raikage is doing this?" Kurenai asked and once they saw the third's head nod and wave his hand, they bowed and two puffs of smoke took over their spots.

**Author notes:**

**Again, sorry for the late update. SCHOOL HAS STARTED! Booo!! Anyway if the characters are OOC, its because I'm not use to writing them.**

**(1) **"Tobira no Mukou e", second ending song of _Full Metal Alchemist_.

**Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but plot!**

**Beta by:** WiltingDaises94


	3. Nothing Can Be Done

I have a _CHALLENGE_ for anyone who is interested, see the bottom my profile for details. Its about this chapter.

**Tenebrous Perspective:**

**Utsuteganai:**

**Nothing Can Be Done:**

_x-x_

_Lost, I feel a little like, a child who's lost, a little like,_

_Everything changed a lot, I didn't like all of the pain_

_(Everything changed)_

_Lost, confused, a lot of it is hard to take and cause of it_

_Everything changed, I'd thought I'll make it through the pain_

_(Everything changed) 1_

_x-x_

_Black. It was the only thing that she could see. It felt like she was in water or was floating in the air; she felt nothing, but knew, by the way her body reacted, she was _somewhere_. Wherever she was, it was getting hard to breathe, so perhaps she was in the water after all, or was so high in the atmosphere that oxygen was depleting?_

_But the question was: What is she doing there?_

_She had a mission; it was no time to play around. Wouldn't her teammats and teacher be concerned when she didn't come? Not to mention, it was a mission with her Naruto-kun! However, despite how hard she tried to move her body, it wouldn't responsd to the command; her body was in a catatonic state, with nothing but the mind and her sense of touch (2) awake._

_She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't come out. She wanted to see, but she couldn't open her eyes. She wanted to reach out, but her arms felt too heavy._

_Slowly, she felt herself sinking..._

_Sinking. Floating._ Drifting.

_Lower and lower... _

_Would she be saved? Dimly she imagined herself in a sea, her body falling into a black hole, which she labeled 'death'. Her breathing became staggered, she was losing and didn't have the will to stand up, to fight, to change herself._

_"Because you are a caged bird, you stand still and wait for anything to come your way. You do not fight for what you want. That is the difference between us."_

_Those were the words her cousin, Neji, told her when she had awoken from her fever. A caged bird. How fitting. Ironic, even in her dreams she amounted to nothing._

_I__t felt like her body was steadily filling up with lead, dropping her to her death._

_Suddenly everything stopped and her body felt numb, refreshed. She felt herself being lifted from the 'death' and was back into the sea. Her body felt lighter and her breathing calmed. She had gained enough control of her body to hear, but the rest of her limbs were inactive, and what she heard was the whooshing of the waves, from the sound of it she was in a storm._

_Her inner turmoil._

"I'm glad you're up. Your mission will begin soon,"

_She dreamt of death and was rewarded with life._

* * *

"Oi. Kureani-sensei, where's Hinata-chan? Wasn't she supposed to come with you?" Kiba asked, absently scratching Akamaru right behind his ears. While Team Seven was sitting under the shade of a tree.

"...She had to go somewhere Kiba." But before Kiba could ask where, everyone turned to the chakra signature coming their way.

It was Hinata.

At least, that's _who_ they thought it was, because the stranger wore clothes that they knew she would _never _wear. This 'Hinata' had on black, form fitting, khaki pants with her ninja gear and the standard blue ninja shoes. She had a silver belt with five copper circles with a square in the middle (3) that had Japanese writing on it spread out on the belt. No one could see it because of the cream colored jacket hoodie, which was loose-fitting and slightly molded her hips, and her leaf headband. Under her jacket (which was zipped up all the way) was a shallow 'U' shaped white halter with clear quartz, and tiger's eye (4) stone on the bottom left of the halter top.

Kiba wanted to say something but was silenced by a glare from his teacher, however, Naruto, not being near Kiba missed the glare and exclaimed, "Hianta-chan! Is that you?"

"H-Hai," her voice was barley above a whisper.

"Hinata," Kurenai began cautiously, "are you alright?" She couldn't help the worry that slipped into her voice, because her student hadn't yet looked at them.

"My head hurts," she said softly, putting her hand to her head for emphasis.

Slowly Hinata lifted up her head, her bangs acting as a curtain to shield her face from the curious crowd. Dimly Kurenai could see what she thought was a white bandage on her student forhead.

"Ah. Glad to see you made it, Hinata-chan." Kakashi stated, putting his book away. "Now I believe we should get going, don't you Kurenai?"

"Hai."

**Author notes:**

**SCHOOL HAS STARTED! Booo!! Anyway if the characters are OOC, its because I'm not used to writing them. Hope you like her outfit, they are clues that tell you what was done to her.**

**(1) **"Nothing can be explain" Bleach

**(2)** Touch, is one of the five senses, along with sight, smell, taste, and hearing. What I mean is that she could tell something was happening by the _pressure_ on her skin because of the various nerve endings that respond to it (i.e. lightly brushed your hand on your opposite arm or on your legs). Her sense of touch has dulled so she can't tell if water is sprayed or the chill of the wind on her arms.

**(3)** This is based on the _Feng Shui_, or the five elements: Water, metal, earth, wood and fire. All of the elements have a meaning. Water: for tranquility and careful thought. Metal: to find order and structure. Wood: for growth and planning. Earth: to feel centered and nurturing. Fire: for energy and learning.

**(4)**Clear quartz and aventurine are two of the seven _Chakra _gem. As with the elements, they have their own meanings as well. Clear quartz is for meditation; and aventurine is for personal power.

_PurpleSweety91 had an excellent question:_

_Why did you make the story during the time of when the Third Hokage was still alive?_

_My answer is:_

_I don't know. It is possibly because that the Third Hokage is alive during the beginning of the manga and that's where the story takes place. However, it might have been more fruitful to start it after the Hokage's death; the hardships she had faced, an important one being the chunnin exams, but to be candid, I don't think this fic will even get to the chunnin exams. I'm not sure if I answered your question or not._

**Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but plot! And the clothes Hinata wear!**

**School has started, so updates will probably come out sooner than it did during the summer. I wished I'd stayed in my Spanish 3 class, I hate advisory class, we don't even get a grade for it! Now I'm stuck in journalism!**

**Beta by:** WiltingDaises94


	4. Odyssey

**Tenebrous Perspective:**

**Odyssey:**

_x-x_

_Rays of light from the stars in the night sky._

_Above send a plea from across the ages with colours that haven't faded._

_It's somebody's cry, reflected in those sparkling eyes._

_A wish carried on the wind, a request from the moon to live as fully as possible, day by day._

_So that our wishes, too, will be in someone's heart someday_,_ (1)_

_x-x_

The journey to Kumogakure was surprisingly boring. They ran for most of time, only resting because the Genin (sans Naruto) couldn't take another step, and when they did stop it was only for a short amount of time, "It's to avoid attracting any unwanted attention," were Kakashi words, giving a meaningful glance to both Naruto and Sasuke. The only interesting that happened was the couple of bandits they crossed, and they were easily taken care of by the Genin.

The in-adventure was getting to Naruto; he complained at every possible chance and was silenced by Sakura's hits and Kurenai's glares. There was the occasional fights between Naruto and Sasuke, and sometimes between Naruto and Kiba, which resulted in said members being punished, by carrying their sensei's or their teammates' bags along with their own for a few miles.

Despite that, everything went on as usual. Team Seven stayed with their team, and Team Eight followed suit. However, there was one particularity with Team Eight, it seemed that everyone on the team could sense the tension between Kurenai and Hinata. The lack of interaction between the two was notiveable, and Hinata ran behind Kiba, which wasn't their usual formation, which Shino noted; since Kiba was taller than Hinata, she seemed to disappear.

Also, the information he received from his bugs was disturbing. First, was the influx of Hinata's chakra when she was questioned about her head the day they were due to leave, the tremor her voice took when she answered. His kikai bugs could detach the underlying tones of worry and fear. Secondly, how her steps falter when either Kurenai-sensei or Kakashi-sensei mention how far they were from their destination. And lastly, her voice, her stuttering was worse, but that could be easily explained since her long-time crush (love?) was with them.

Only one way to make sure, and what excellent timing too, they stopped for their last break.

"Hinata," Shino paused, turning his head slightly to get a better view of his teammate. "Do you see any of those jade flowers I told you about?"

"S-Sorry, Shino-kun, but I d-do not see any of those f-flowers." She answered after she deactivated her Byakugan.

"Would you mind checking periodically?"

"S-Sure."

"Also," Shino stopped to push his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure of the pressure, aren't you?" The cryptic message took Hinata some time to get, but when she did her face flushed pink with understanding. Unknowingly Hinata has just given Shino more support for his accusation: Her unusual amount of shuttering wasn't from Naruto being there, it was from whatever she and Kurenai-sensei were tense about. Now the only thing left was to figure out the 'what' from the equation and act accordingly.

"All right!" Naruto shouted. "We're almost there! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Oi! Hinata! Shino! Hurry up, I bet this place has ramen in it and I'm hungry!"

"Have you found your center yet?" Shino inquired, turning his body to face the combined squads. "It seems that you will be needing it. Soon." He finished his statement and left her walking slowly behind him.

_It was a beautiful place. Something that seemed to pop out of a story book, where the princess finally meets the prince. At least that's what Hyuuga Hinata thought._

_A pond that was produced whenever it rained was surrounded by lush green grass, and rocks that had moss on them. Not to mention the trees that irregularly gave off a cooling breeze, and sometimes a leaf would fall, making the water dance to its own tune if it happened to land on the surface._

_Hinata could only giggle. It was the only time she could be happy; be herself without the constant warning not to slip up. It was nice to let her worries flow through her, to let them disappear forever. However it seemed fate had different plans for her, and she had suffered pain that was not brought onto herself, but came through the cruelty and greed of others._

_Old pains and memoirs of the past were renewed and took a fresh stab at her heart. Letting herself go, she cried and watched as her tears joined the water in the pond, distorting her reflection._

_"Hinata." Sheperson stiffened and hastily began to wipe her tears away. It was a fairly warm night, not unusual for Konoha, especially during this time of the year. Nor was it unusual for shinobis to be training during the night. She should have known, this place wasn't that far from the village, so she should've suspected company. The Byakugan user had to choke back her sobs when she realized she had failed at something again._

_She had to coerce herself to speak before more tears fell. __"S-s-shino-o-kun-n."_

_If Shino was disturbed by his teammates' emotional welfare, he did not show it. After all who was he to judge? He should not frown on Hinata's decision to cry, he was sure there were people who frowned on his clan because they let _live _bugs live in their bodies. Also they were people who frowned at the shinobi for their emotional detachment._

_"It seems that you are in need of a center." Shino concluded, and watched as his confused teammate turned her tear-washed face towards his. "Something, either a material item or a state of mind that will help you become more at peace."_

_"D-do you h-have one-e S-shino-kun?"_

_"Yes." Hinata waited for more but it seemed that was all Shino would divulge. "You should get some sleep," he commented, and left._

Hinata was brought back to reality when Kakashi-sensei crouched, and Kurenai-sensei followed suit seconds later with hands on their kunai pouches. The action made all the Genin tense up and reach for their weapons. Since the Genin were still novices they were jumpy, so a slight russle to the left of Naruto caused him to throw a kunai in that direction. A 'whoosh' was heard and a figure stood two feet from Naruto, swinging a kunai on his index finger.

"Whoa there, little guy." The male figure said, turning around to survey who else was there. "Ah, Hatake Kakashi. Long time no see."

"Konoe Satoru. My, I haven't seen you since that S-class mission in Iwa." Kakashi replied, closing his one visible eye and put away his kunai.

Konoe Satoru was a man of tall stature, possible five inches taller than the copy nin. He had short black hair, and warm chocolate-brown eyes with a scar extending from his right cheek to his left eyebrow. He had a slightly wider nose than Konoha's Third, not unusual for Kumogakure natives, and with standard Kumo ninja gear: Black, sleeveless hoodie, with a silver army tunic that went around his left shoulder and a hilt of a sword, barely visible from his right shoulder. His pants were black as well, and had white guage on them, forming an 'x' on both knees, and a silver metal with black strips about a inch interval from one another (2), halfway from the ankle to the knee overtop the pants with regular blue ninja shoes underneath. His Kumo headband was on his left tricep.

"And this is your genin team, Kakashi?" The Kumo inquired, looking over the three Genin that were closer to the jounin.

"Hai. Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Sasuke(3) are their names." Each member of team seven bowed and said 'Hi' (well in Sasuke case it was more like a 'Hn,').

"Oh? And who is your partner?" Satoru stated, looking at Kurenai.

"Yuuhi Kurenai, and these are my Genin. Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hinata(3)."

"Yuuhi Kurenai?" Satoru commented. "You're making a name for yourself, as the Genjutsu Mistress."

"Well, you guys must be tired. We have about ten miles left before we get there."

* * *

"And here we are!" Satoru announced, swinging his left arm to show them.... more forest, with a bolder in front of them.

"What the hell is this?!" Kiba yelled, obviously irritated.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "There's nothing more than this giant ass rock!"

"It's called a bolder, dobe." Sasuke corrected him.

"Sasuke," Naruto growled, and took an advancing step towards the other Genin.

"Naruto," Kakashi reprimanded his student. "Sorry about him."

"Not a problem." Satoru said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Most of our Chunin get iffy their first couple of times going through our entrance."

"Entrance?" Sakura inquired. "How is a rock an entrance?"

"Now, now. Do you really think an actual rock can lead us into a village?"

"It's a very complex genjutsu, but a genjutsu nonetheless, right?" Kurenai spoke up.

"Exactly. It happens that Kumo's first and second Hokages were rather gifted in seals and genjutsu."

"But how do we get through it?" Sakura asked.

"Well, as I'm sure you've noticed on our way to the entrance, Kakashi, a couple of ANBU going past us?" He waited until he saw the copy nin's nod. "The seals are all undone, and the only thing we have to do is walk through it."

Satoru walked up to bolder and was about to step in, when he turned mid-step to address the rest, "Oh, do be weary of the stalagmites and stalactites. Some of them are cached!" He called out the rest of his warning before completing his stride into the bolder, which he disappeared into.

* * *

"Raikage-sama," A Kumo ANBU said, bowing to his leader.

"Hai. Speak."

"We've just received word from ANBU Team 2, Sir. Konoe Satoru is coming with the Konoha ninjas."

"He is, is he?" The Raikage commented to himself. "Make sure everything is in order for our guests."

"Hai. And one more thing, Sir. One of the ANBU said it looked one a Genin was from the Hyuuga Clan."

"Hmm." The Raikage said, and waved his hand for the ninja to be gone.

_'Hyuuga Clan? Should I send him on a mission?'_

**Author notes:**

**Sorry for the long wait, I'm lazy. But to make it up to you guys this chapter is longer! Really, usually my chapters are 1,000 words, this is over 2,000! Shino is terrible-- in my opinion-- to write for! Any tips for writing his character will be appreciated.**

**I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, something just seems off to me.**

**Sorry about the cliffy, but I needed a stopping point, to think of the next chapter.**

**I also have a **CHALLENGE** for this chapter:**

**_What does the flashback in this chapter have in common with the prologue of this story, or with chapter 3?_**

**(1) **"Asterisk" Bleach

**(2)**If you're current with the manga, go to chapter 414, page 13 and look at the bottom right for a better look at that.

**(3)** I know, they have no last names, its for a reason which will be revealed... in a later chapter!

**Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but plot!**

**Beta by:** WiltingDaises94


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